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Country: Saudi Arabia

Middle East policy under Donald Trump

Just how the Trump administration will handle the thorny issue of the Middle East remains to be seen. Trump's policy of non-intervention and "pragmatic" alliances with authoritarian rulers is, however, likely to encourage the return of repressive dictatorships, lending them apparent respectability in exchange for guarantees of stability. By Rene WildangelMore

Arab reactions to Donald Trump′s election victory

Radical Islamists and Arab autocrats alike were pinning their hopes on Donald Trump. Now they are out to seize their chance. At the moment, however, no one in the Arab world can predict what line Trump is likely to pursue. By Karim El-Gawhary More

Arab reactions to the coup aftermath in Turkey

Opinion in the Arab world is divided when it comes to the policies adopted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the coup attempt in Turkey. Islamists feel their position has been strengthened, while liberal and conservative Arabs look upon recent developments with concern. Analysis by Joseph CroitoruMore

Secularism in the Islamic world

In the second part of his essay on secularism in the Islamic world, Saudi analyst Khalid al-Dakhil addresses the ready confusion, found particularly in Islamic writings, of secularism as a concept and separating religion and the state as a legal-political reality. What is the difference? More

Ali Abdullah Saleh and the conflict in Yemen

During the Arab Spring President Saleh faced widespread armed protests and was forced to leave office. Thanks to some unscrupulous wheeling and dealing, however, Saleh may yet pull off his bid to return to power. By Neville TellerMore

US presidential elections

Huma Abedin, long-time aide to Hillary Clinton, is someone who prefers to remain in the background. The current election campaign has seen her dragged reluctantly into the limelight however – and confronted her with sex scandals and terror threats. By Mey Dudin

Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system remains the most significant impediment to women’s rights in the country despite limited reforms over the last decade. Adult women must obtain permission from a male guardian to travel abroad, marry, or be released from prison, and may be required to provide guardian consent to work or get health care.More

Secularism in the Islamic world

The well-known Saudi analyst Khaled al-Dakhil posits that if it was secularism that led the West out of the Dark Ages and into the Enlightenment and if, at the same time, secularism means atheism and a lack of religious faith, then it was the latter, rather than faith, which paved the way to science, insight and freedomMore

Oil and development in the Middle East

When poor countries started producing oil, they thought that was the key to economic growth and prosperity. Since then, the impact of resource wealth on producing countries has been the subject of endless debate. By Nassir DjafariMore

Solving the conflicts in the Middle East

Simmering for decades beneath the surface of autocratic repression, conflicts such as the Sunni uprisings in Syria and Iraq, Shia unrest in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, not to mention the rancour of the Kurds and Palestinians, are ongoing. The West is partly to blame. By Ishac DiwanMore

Fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan

The militias of Afghan warlords have always occupied a dubious position in the life of the country. But Kabul relies on them as allies in the battle against the Taliban – a strategy, however, that is having the opposite effect. By Emran FerozMore

Pakistan and sectarianism

Pakistan′s generals blame their country′s cycle of political violence, including a recent bombing in the Baluch capital of Quetta, on groups in Afghanistan. The focus on external enemies complicates efforts to reduce political violence, ease inter-communal strains and facilitate easing of tensions with Pakistan′s neighbours. By James M. DorseyMore

Saudi-Iranian rivalry

A cold war is waging in one of the world′s hottest regions. A key component of the sectarian competition between Shia and Sunni Islam in the Middle East is geopolitical, with Iran facing off against Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies in a struggle for regional dominance. By Robert HarveyMore

Interview with the Saudi author Alhanoof Aldegheishem

The Saudi Arabian dentist Alhanoof Aldegheishem wrote her first novel ″Frāībūrġ. riqqatu l-cuzla″, which roughly translates as ′Freiburg – sweet loneliness′, during a long research residency in Germany. In it, she describes how her own perspective changed and developed through her exposure to a foreign culture and the challenges she faced along the way. Interview by Hussein GaafarMore

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Most Recent Photo Essay

Fleeing war-torn Syria, painter Majd Kara found himself in Lithuania where half the population says they refuse to help asylum-seekers. Now holding his second exhibition, Kara is changing the country's attitude. By Karolis Vysniauskas